The data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) showed the average cost of a pint of draught lager in pubs jumped from £4.69 to £4.81 in the year to November, an increase of 2.5%.
However, the figure was just below the latest headline rate of inflation and significantly lower than last year, when prices soared by 11.6% from £4.20 in November 2022 to £4.69 in 2023.
It also marked the lowest annual increase in November since before the pandemic, when prices jumped 1.6% from £3.73 in November to £3.79 in December 2020.
Overall, the average cost of a pint of lager in the on-trade has risen by 28.9% over the past five years and 41.4% over the past decade, with a pint of lager costing £3.40 in November 2014, according to ONS.
Price hikes
Draught bitter prices also increased in the year to November, rising by 0.5% from £3.91 in 2023 to £3.93.
It means the cost of a pint of draught bitter in pubs has jumped 25.9% since 2019, when the prices stood at £3.12, and 32.3% in the past ten years, up from £2.97 in November 2014.
Month-on-month bitter and lager prices both increased by 0.2% between October and November 2024 according to the estimations, based on figures collated by ONS from pubs across the country.
The previous data showed the average cost of a pint of draught lager in the on-trade jumped 2.8% in the year to October 2024, rising from £4.67 in 2023 to £4.80.
Meanwhile the cost of a pint of draught bitter increased 0.7% year-on-year according to the numbers, from £3.89 in October 2023 to £3.92.
Constant worry
In addition, the latest data from ONS, released on Wednesday 18 December, revealed the Consumer Prices Index (CPI) rose by 2.6% in the 12 months to November 2024, up from 2.3% in the 12 months to October, driven in part by rising fuel prices.
On top of this, the Bank of England recently held interest rates at 4.75% for the second time in a row, leaving many firms continuing to struggle with Covid loan repayments.
Last month, CAMRA national chair Ash Corbett-Collins told The Morning Advertiser (The MA) continuously rising pint costs were a “constant worry” for hardworking publicans, who were not to blame for the price hikes.
He said: “If the price continues to rise it risks pushing even loyal patrons away from their local pubs, taprooms and social clubs.
“This is a result of a torrent of factors that have left pubs scrambling to survive. The burden of unfair business rates plus sky high costs of goods and energy bills, have forced pubs to raise their prices.”
